


Three Nights Continued

by MissLittyKitty



Series: Nights Series [4]
Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Humor, MissLittyKitty, Nights Series, One Night Stands, Romance, Three Nights Lasting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 06:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4169640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLittyKitty/pseuds/MissLittyKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the title says, the story of Kacey and Jeremy isn't over yet. </p><p>Continuation of "One Night Only", "Two Nights Maybe" and "Three Nights Lasting".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fourth installment of the Nights Series. 
> 
> Thanks four times over to my Super-Beta Wusch!! Love ya.

**Part 1**

I’d woken once during the night feeling too hot, too sweaty and too sticky and had found myself completely entangled with Jeremy. The bright smile had come automatically and, only slightly shifting my position so I wouldn’t wake him, I’d watched him sleep until I’d eventually drifted off again.   
When I woke this time, the bed next to me was empty. In fact, I was using up the whole width of it, lying there almost diagonally. Bits and pieces of a conversation reached the bedroom, sporadically drowned out by some clattering. I listened for a couple minutes and decided that either the TV or the radio had to be running; and that something was puttering about in my kitchen. Or well, maybe rather someone. 

Smiling, I rolled out of bed, stretching my faintly sore muscles and picked up my sleeping shirt which must’ve fallen to the floor sometime last night. Slipping into it, I padded into the hallway until I reached the small doorway leading into the kitchen. And there he was: standing in front of my stove with a spatula in one hand and the handle of a frying pan in the other transferring the already finished scrambled eggs into a bowl, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and the apron I’d usually kept on a hook by the fridge solely for decoration.

My smile widened and I leaned against the doorframe watching how he sat the pan back onto the stove and put the bowl into the heated oven, where another bowl already sat.   
When he straightened, he turned his head and his gaze met mine. The slightly startled expression was replaced by a small smile and I had the feeling he actually blushed a little. Rubbing a hand over the back of his head, he said, “Hey, I was just about to wake you.” 

“You made me breakfast.” I was unable to keep the huge smile from appearing on my face and slowly approached him.  
“I did,” he said quietly, once again rubbing the back of his neck. “You were out of…well, kinda everything so I…uhm went to the little store round the corner. Bacon, eggs and buttered toast okay?”

“Perfect,” I whispered, came to a stop directly in front of him and ran my hands up his arms, across his apron-covered chest to his shoulders, rising to my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “You wearing that apron is really sexy. You should wear it all the time.”   
Feeling him swallow hard, I kissed the side of his throat all the way to his Adam’s apple and grazed a spot there very lightly with my teeth.   
“Do you want to eat or shower first?” His voice was deep, gravelly and almost resembled a moan. Still nuzzling his skin, I replied, “Shower first, I think. I’m icky.” 

Pulling back from him to find his eyes, I caught him shake his head in protest.   
“Not to me, you’re not,” he said, put his arms around me and let his hands skim down to grab my ass and pull me close. He kissed along the side of my face, mumbling, “To me you are supple and soft and warm and smokin’ hot, especially knowing you’re not wearing anything under your shirt.” As if to emphasize his words, his hands slid under the hem of said garment and he squeezed the now totally bare cheeks of my butt. 

Yeah, it felt a little cheesy to me but I couldn’t have cared less. It was my cheesy moment and I wouldn’t have exchanged it for anything in the world. And damn it, it was so – to quote him – smokin’ hot, too, I felt ready to combust on the spot. 

I kissed him then and started to pull him with me in the direction of the bathroom but he freed himself, smiling at me and said, “Go on, I’ll be right there.” 

Pouting just minimally, I entered the bathroom alone and got the shower going. Closing my eyes briefly, I suppressed the groan rising up in my throat. I didn’t need to think about the extremely hot sex from last night. Just having him here made me constantly want him, be close to him; which might not be that surprising since I had no idea for how long I was going to have him this time. So naturally, everything was in overdrive. It seemed like my heart and my body wanted to make good on the time we still had, at the same time wanting to make up for the time already lost.

I was still brushing out my hair and a slight mist had already settled on the mirror when I noticed something on the left side of my neck. Wiping the fog away with one hand, I moved nearer to the mirror to examine and found a bite mark. It was bright red, turning bluish and purple along the edges even now. An image flashed before my mind’s eye and as I remembered how exactly it had gotten there, a shiver ran through me. 

Sighing deeply, I stripped off my shirt and collected two towels from a small cabinet, setting them on top of my washing machine. Entering the shower stall, I let the water fall down on me, willing it to wash away the feeling of lust. 

I was in the process of shampooing my hair when I heard the cubicle door open and two more hands joined mine on my head. He didn’t speak and neither did I. Together our fingers worked the shampoo into my hair, massaging my scalp before he made me turn to rinse it out. His hair was next and I let my fingers run through it, his hands on my waist holding me close. When I’d frothed it up enough, I made him step underneath the spray to remove the shampoo. Once done, he pulled me closer still and found my lips in a slow, lazy kiss. 

The warm water pattered down on us but we just stood there holding each other, sharing languid kisses. This is what heaven should feel like, I decided and for the time being forgot about everything else. I forgot about him being a famous actor. I forgot about the trouble with my job and with Pete. I forgot that Jeremy and I hadn’t really talked yet. And I forgot that I’d only known him for a couple days. Nothing mattered, just me and him. And the way it felt to be held and kissed by him; and to hold him and kiss him back.   
Our shower dance continued, him washing me and me washing him, taking the time for lots of lazy, drawn out kisses. Certainly, all of this did nothing to dampen my feeling of lust which was still there but I found it more important to concentrate on how it felt. And it felt right. And cozy and lovely and tender and perfect. And most of all, it felt real. And I would’ve liked nothing more than to stay in that moment for a long, long time. 

But, as we all know, life’s not that way. Sooner than I wanted to, the hot water had been used up and we had to rinse off more quickly than either of us would’ve liked. We dried off in silence and while he slipped once more into his shorts, I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out into the hallway.   
“I guess, I’ll have to make a trip to my hotel room for a change of fresh clothes,” he said, following me and I paused upon hearing his voice. Turning to face him, I nibbled on my lower lip briefly before asking, “Just so I know…how long will you be staying here? With me?”   
At once his eyes widened, giving him that puppy dog look I’d come to love so much and he ran his hand through his damp hair, a sheepish smile on his lips. 

“We never got around to that talk last night,” he stated, heaving a slight sigh and averted his eyes for a moment. “I never planned for last night to happen how it did. And I mean, I can stay at the hotel if you’d rather want me to. I just…”   
His voice trailed off and he found my gaze again, the lost expression making my stomach clench. With a few steps I was right in front of him and framed his face with my hands, slowly shaking my head. 

“No, that’s not what I meant at all. I…I’m…I’m ecstatic that you’re here with me. I’d just like to know for how long. That’s all.” And not giving him the chance to reply, I kissed him with such force that he stumbled backwards and hit the wall. Everything inside me wanted to remove any doubts he might’ve had about his presence in my home; wanted to make perfectly clear that I absolutely and unconditionally wanted him there.   
His arms wrapped around me and pulled me wonderfully close to his warm, powerful body while he returned my kiss with reckless abandon, evoking in me the wish to be able to show him just how he made me feel. 

My hands were splayed on his chest, the thin hairs tickling my palms and my fingernails dug lightly into his skin. His mouth was wreaking such sweet havoc on mine, causing me to moan into the kiss. I felt his hands shift on my back, one travelling up to the nape of my neck, the other one south to my butt and he pressed me even more firmly to him so that I felt the growing bulge against my stomach. 

Pulling his lips from mine, he groaned, “Oh Kacey, what are you doing to me?” But it was obvious he didn’t expect an answer because he at once ran his tongue over my lower lip and added, “The way you make me feel…and the things you make me want to do with you….” 

“Jeremy,” I whimpered, eyelids fluttering shut and my teeth worrying my bottom lip. He brought his hand around and with his thumb he pulled my lip free before he claimed my mouth with his. And once more I fell into his seductive, all-consuming kiss where everything but him seemed to disappear. 

I knew he moved us, it felt a little like dancing, but not until my legs hit something and we broke the kiss, did I realize that he had walked us into my bedroom and that we were standing at the foot of my bed. Without hesitation he took off his shorts and peeled the towel from around my body, throwing it haphazardly onto the floor. Taking my hands in his, he sat on the edge of the mattress and guided me to stand between his legs. He placed my hands on his shoulders and burrowed his face against my stomach. His arms locked around my waist while his lips trailed soft, wet kisses to my belly button, nipping, licking and kissing my skin. 

His hands ran up and down my butt and upper thighs, eventually directing me to kneel on the bed, my knees on either side of him almost next to his hips. I felt his hot breath on my mound, on the dampness between my thighs and moaned, my fingers finding his hair and I bowed my head. His eyes met mine then, his pupils wide, his gaze heated and I knew what he was about to do, causing my muscles to tremble in anticipation. 

A mewling sound left my throat even before he touched me and once I felt his tongue on me, a tremor ran through my whole body and heat exploded all over my skin.   
He did it again, running his tongue along my sensitive flesh before circling my clit only once, making me shiver and tremble all over. His fingers skimmed over my left thigh almost to my knee. He lifted it onto his shoulder, his lips and tongue focusing on the soft skin of my inner thigh. My breathing accelerated and I felt more and more unsteady.   
His hold on me tightened and I felt his mouth moving to my center again. This time, he attacked in earnest, licking and swirling his tongue and I succumbed to shivering and yelping. My fingers must’ve had a viselike grip in his hair, holding his head in place and my legs felt as if they would give out at any moment, the muscles were shaking so bad. But still I kept watching him and knew that he tried to watch me and meet my eyes whenever he could. 

Heat coiled in the lower half of my body and it became harder to hold still which I tried to make up for by alternately moan unintelligible words and breathing his name. To keep the movement of my hips to a minimum, I focused on running one of my hands up and down the nape of his neck. However, when he eventually started to suck on my clit, faintly grazing it with his teeth, I was done. Pressing my lower body to his mouth, the orgasm hit me so overwhelmingly fast and with such intensity, all I was capable of was literally screaming I didn’t even know what. And I didn’t care. 

Gasping for breath, the muscles in my legs still shaking, I let myself sink down onto his lap, tightly holding on to his shoulders and rested my head on the side of his neck, breathing in his scent.   
I felt his fingers comb through my hair, skim along my shoulder and up the side of my neck where they focused on one spot, gently caressing the skin and making me break out in gooseflesh. 

“I’m sorry I marked you,” he grumbled, his lips pressing soft kisses to my forehead. Shivering a little, I replied, “I’m not” and reluctantly pulled away from him to find his gaze. My hands framed his face as I said, “I’m yours.” 

For several heartbeats we simply stared at one another, his fingers still on my neck, my hands on his cheeks. His pupils were wide, the dark flecks around it nearly gone letting his eyes appear deep gray-blue. I smiled, one of my hands traveling up to and through his hair and I kissed his nose. His hand on my neck didn’t let me pull back all the way and he crushed his lips to mine with one swift upward jerk of his chin. I melted against him once more, my arms wrapped around his neck, my breasts against his chest. Moving my hips closer to his, I felt his erection between us and couldn’t resist rubbing myself against him. 

His intense moan ran through my whole body and with some pressure of one hand on my hip, he made me lift up. When I felt him at my center, I was unable to keep kissing him and pulled back, releasing the air from my lungs in a sharp gasp. Deliberately slow, I sank down taking in his hardened length and found his gaze.   
“Kacey,” he growled and wrapped both arms around me, pulling me close to his body so that our foreheads were almost touching. Holding his gaze, I started to move my hips against his without lifting off of him, setting a pace I knew exactly would feel good but not nearly good enough. His breath tickled my skin, his short, low pants only increasing my need for him. But I kept to my pace, torturing both of us, craving to drive him with me to the edge of insanity.

A thin sheen of sweat covered our bodies. His eyes were so dark with desire and our breaths were already coming in short, harsh gasps by the time I lifted myself off of him for the first time. He nearly cried out in pure pleasure and grasped onto my hips to halt my movement.   
He leaned back a little, bracing his weight with one arm behind him and brought one foot onto the bed. With my hands on each of his shoulders, I started to move again and this time, he met me, moving his hips up whenever I sank down. Together we found a rhythm, quickly increasing in pace, panting and moaning in ecstasy but never breaking eye contact. 

From there it didn’t take me long to reach my peak, releasing it in one drawn out cry of his name which seemed to trigger his own release. Still panting and moaning, he collapsed back onto the mattress, taking me with him and wrapping his arms around me to hold me there so that we could catch our breaths together.


	2. Part 2

**Part 2**

“Oh, by the way,” he said between two mouthfuls, meeting my eyes across the table, “as I was going to tell you before you so effectively shut me up…” He paused to be able to shoot me a wicked grin and I felt the heat on my cheeks but sent him a smile of my own in return. 

“I’m in town for three more days counting today,” he continued before taking another bite of his toast. Naturally, the food had been slightly ruined once we managed to finally let go of one another. The bacon was too soggy; the scrambled eggs too dry but neither of us really cared. We’d toasted some bread and were currently sitting at my dining table, enjoying a late breakfast. I was again wearing my sleeping shirt as well as some shorts while Jeremy had succeeded in getting fully dressed save for his sweater and socks.   
“Does that mean you’ll be spending all this time here with me or…do you have to be somewhere?” 

“Well, there’s one interview tomorrow afternoon, I think around two. Another one at four and in the evening a special screening of the movie I’m promoting. On Thursday I’ve got a photo call at nine in the morning and after that a radio interview. That’s about it, I guess,” he explained, ticking the events off on his fingers. My eyebrows had risen into my hairline once he’d finished, at least it felt like it. I’d never realized just how many appointments or commitments there were in promoting a film. 

“So yesterday and today…,” I started, the fork I was holding forgotten on my plate as I gazed at him.   
“Were my days off,” he said, added after a moment, “Well, today’s my day off. Yesterday was packed with events until midday after which I went straight to the airport to come here…to talk to you.” 

“Which we are going to do when?” 

“As soon as we finish breakfast,” he answered and took another mouthful of eggs. I nodded my head, smiled at him but directed my eyes to focus on my food for a moment. What he’d just told me meant that, really, I was only going to have him until tomorrow morning; maybe midday if he’d bring his clothes for the interview along and got ready for it here. All in all, roughly 24 hours. 

I didn’t like it. It wasn’t enough, not nearly so. But then again, would it ever be enough? With him, I wasn’t so sure. And, my head had to remind me just now, better get used to it, too. If anything would come of us – if the possibility of us existed at all – this was how it was going to be with him, wasn’t it? Short visits, lots of time spent apart. I still didn’t like it. 

But I didn’t want him to see my disappointment. He deserved to get the happy, smiley me, not the teary, depressed me I’d become since we’d last seen each other and of whom he had gotten a glimpse last night. So, trying to suppress a heavy sigh, I forced a smile onto my face and started on the rest of my breakfast with as much gusto as I could. To get my mind off the other issue for the time being I asked him what Jasmine had asked me the night before, “How did you know where I live by the way?” 

“Long or short version?” he wanted to know and leaned back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips but he continued almost immediately, “I had help from my PA who got your address from your cousin and his number from the magazine for which he or well, actually you took the photos of me.”

“Wow, sounds a lot like detective work,” I said and giggled. “I’m surprised Pete came out with the correct address.”

“Well, my PA talked to him but yes,” he agreed, “from what I learned last night it is surprising. But I’m glad he did.” 

“So am I,” I confirmed and returned his smile. Seeing that he had finished his plate as well, I got up to clear the table. Reaching for his mug of coffee, he settled back into the chair to watch me pile up the dishes and carry them around the counter to the sink where I rinsed each piece off before loading it into the dishwasher.   
I was almost done when he joined me, placing his now empty mug next to mine on the counter. Together we put the remaining items away and, once done, he closed the dishwasher and leaned against the counter. 

“So, is there something you want to do while you’re here? Besides us having that talk?” I inquired, finding his gaze while I mirrored him, letting my back touch the counter opposite him.

“Hmm.” He tilted his head to the side and ran one hand through the hair on the back of his head. “I don’t know. Do you?” 

“Oh, but you’ve already done me four times.” I had no idea where this answer had come from, it just slipped out. And despite the smirk on my lips, I was astonished by my ability to tease him just minutes after feeling so down. But the expression on his face was priceless and I burst out laughing. He gaped at me for another moment before joining me in laughter. 

“I did,” he eventually agreed, laughter gone and replaced with a sly grin. Gradually he approached me and trapped me between his arms, his hands braced on the counter. His voice low and gravelly, he said, “And I plan on doing you at least twice more.” 

“Is that so?” I purred, bringing my hands up to his chest and rubbing over his cotton-covered pecs. He moved even nearer to me so that my back was actually digging into the edge of the counter and whispered, “Absofuckinglutely” before his lips met mine. 

The doorbell rang, making both of us jump and for several seconds we simply looked at each other, my mind trying to process what was going on outside the bubble I had created for myself with him since last night. 

When it rang a second time, I was able to think a little more clearly and remembered that it was a normal work day, Tuesday in fact and that simply because Jeremy was here, the world outside hadn’t stopped moving. Which was a shame actually; just imagine all the time we would’ve had if everything else would stop moving? 

“Could be the mailman,” I contemplated and saw him raise an eyebrow as I made my way to the door to buzz in the dimwit who had disturbed us.   
“If the door downstairs is locked which is usually the case, the mailman rings up all apartments for someone to let him in since the mail boxes are inside the building,” I explained with a shrug of my shoulder while walking back to Jeremy. The confused expression on his face was replaced by one of understanding quickly followed by a mischievous one. His hands reached for my waist and he pulled me close, rasping, “Good to know. So, where were we?” 

Smirking up at him, my hands ran up his bare arms to his chest and I stepped closer to him lifting my lips to his, whispering, “I think right here.” 

His lips were already on mine as there was a knock on my door. He halted not even mid-kiss, pulled his head back a little and this time raised both eyebrows.

“Does the mail man usually do this?”

“Uhm…no, not really,” I mumbled, heaved a sigh and reluctantly slipped out of his embrace. Once again I made my way over to the door. Pulling it open, I was greeted by a rather shrill voice proclaiming, “Honey, are you alright? We heard.” Followed by another slightly deeper voice, “I’m not going to let him get away with it.”

Wide eyed, mouth agape and feeling utterly flummoxed, I found myself face to face with two older women – one short and a little plumpish, the other tall and boney – both rushing to hug me.   
“Mom?” I said incredulous when the shorter of the two folded me into her arms, quickly relieved by the second woman. “Aunt Martha? I…what’s… what are you doing here?”  
After having hugged me and kissed my cheek, they entered my apartment both jabbering away rapidly, only snippets of it reaching my brain.   
“…with Jazzy this morning…”  
“…your mother did…”   
“…she told me what happened…”  
“…and called me and I can’t believe….” 

Here my aunt’s voice trailed off and my mother didn’t say anything more either because both had spotted Jeremy standing in the middle of my open kitchen. His expression was a mixture of amusement and alarm, his eyes wide but half a smile on his lips.

“Who are you?” my mom inquired at once, her brow furrowing and her arms folding in front of her chest. Turning to me, she asked again, “Who is he?”

“That…that is Jeremy. He’s…he’s a friend of mine,” I said quietly, not sure what else to say and added, “Jeremy, meet my mom, Elena McKinnon and my aunt Martha Spencer.” While speaking I’d slowly turned to face him so that my back was to my aunt and mom. 

“I’m so sorry about this,” I mouthed. The shake of his head was almost imperceptible. His grin widened and I knew he’d chosen to simply be amused. A few steps brought him to my side. He procured one of his dazzling smiles and shook first my mothers’ then my aunts’ hand, saying, “Mrs. McKinnon, Mrs. Spencer, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jeremy,” my mom replied and once more focusing on me, she added, “How come we’ve never heard of him before?”   
My mind was still trying to accept the fact that they were here rendering me unable to answer her at once. And I was very surprised when I heard Jeremy say, “That might be because Kacey and I have only known each other for a few weeks, haven’t we?”   
He turned his gaze to me, a sly smirk on his face and I literally forced myself to snap out of it and nod my head.   
“Yes, exactly. We’ve met just some weeks ago,” I agreed and smiled, adding, “Mom, Aunt Martha why don’t you sit down and…and we’ll be right back with coffee, okay?” 

With that I turned away from them, tugging on Jeremy’s shirt as discreetly as possible. He followed me back to the kitchen and while I started up the coffee maker, he collected two more mugs from the cupboard.   
“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, making sure neither my mom nor my aunt would hear or see, “I have no idea why they’re here.”   
“Well, from what I gathered they heard about what Pete did and are concerned about you,” he said quietly. 

“I guess. But still…why today of all days?” Taking one of the mugs from him, I placed it under the coffee maker, trying but failing to keep the disappointment out of my voice.   
“Kace, calm down. It’s fine. It’s your mom. She’s worried about you,” he tried again and when I didn’t look at him, his hands took hold of my own, stopping me from doing what I was doing. He made me turn to him and with a hand under my chin forced me to meet his gaze. 

“I know you’re disappointed,” he said and before I had the chance to protest, he smirked and continued, “No need to deny it. I know you are. And I understand why, too. You’re thinking that now we’ll have even less time together. But…I need to go to my hotel anyway. So, I’m going to call my PA now and have someone pick me up and you can take your time to talk to your mom and aunt, okay?” 

“But…I….” I stopped myself from speaking my thoughts out loud because telling him I thought he maybe would’ve wanted to take me along suddenly sounded too clingy even to my own ears. We had yet to put a name to our relationship, for god’s sake. I really needed to get a grip on my emotions; on myself. So I sighed deeply and nodded. 

“Okay,” I agreed but couldn’t completely shake off the feeling of not liking it. Still, when he smiled I had to smile as well. How could I not? His smile was so bright involving his whole face; so all-consuming, there was no way anyone would be able to keep from smiling with him. 

And not caring anymore, my hands fisted in his shirt and I pulled him down to kiss his lips, despite a deep blush coloring my cheeks due to my mother and my aunt watching us.   
Once we parted, he told me to get the coffee ready while he would make the call to his PA, disappearing through the door into the hallway and to my bedroom. With a sigh I made the second cup of coffee, took up both mugs and walked over to the couch where my mom and my aunt had taken a seat. I set the mugs down on the coffee table and pulled up two of my dining chairs, settling onto one. 

I could read the questions on their faces as plainly as if they’d asked them out loud but I shot them a look and very faintly shook my head. Taking another deep breath, I focused on my mom and said, “So, what brings you here? Because I haven’t understood a word of what you were telling me when you came in.” 

“Well,” my mother started and sighed, taking a few moments to gather her thoughts. “I had breakfast with your sister today and she told me what Pete did; that he kind of stole your pictures and sold them as his. Naturally, I at once called Martha and…I…I was worried about you, Kacey and…I wanted to see you.” 

Her last sentence made me smile. As frustrating as it was for her to visit right now, a sense of gratitude filled me and I reached over to gently squeeze her hand.  
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it but I’m…I’m okay, I guess,” I told her, adding after a short pause, “Thank you, too Aunt Martha.” 

“Yes, well,” she murmured and cleared her throat. “It’s not every day your own flesh and blood chooses money over family.” She sighed deeply, crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned back in her seat. I found myself nodding.

“It’s not. But…while talking to Jasmine and Jeremy last night….” Of course he chose that moment to re-enter the room, saying, “I heard my name. What did I miss?”  
He took a seat on the second chair I’d pulled up. My mom and aunt exchanged a knowing look before bestowing me with it, making me briefly roll my eyes and shake my head.   
“Just that my aunt is rather mad at her son,” I told him, to which he nodded and I continued, “Well, as I was just trying to say, while talking to Jasmine and Jeremy last night they made me see that Pete was…well, jealous and….” 

“That may very well be so,” Martha interrupted, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward. “But it doesn’t justify what he’s done in any way. He recognized your talent, Kacey but instead of using it for the both of you and being glad about not needing to hire – excuse my French – filth like Carla, he betrayed you. His cousin. That’s unacceptable to me.”  
“You’ve…you’ve already talked to him?” I asked timidly, sensing my aunt was inwardly fuming. 

“What the hell do you think? Of course I talked to him. Right after your mother called me,” she exclaimed, her inner rage bubbling to the surface. “And while I know the many faults of my own son, never would I have thought he’d do something like that.” 

She met my gaze full on and it was then that I realized how hard my aunt was taking her sons’ behavior. She was literally fighting with tears and without a second thought I got up, walked the few steps over to the couch, sat down in between my mom and her and pulled her into my arms. 

“Dear, dear Aunt Martha,” I said quietly but after that words failed me. I’d never before seen my usually rather stoic aunt like this. Although I’d witnessed lots of my cousins’ misdeeds during our younger years, I’d never seen my aunt loose her calm as she was now. It had always been my mother who’d had the emotional outbursts. So instead of saying anything, I simply held her close.

It didn’t take her long to calm down again, of course. She wouldn’t have been my aunt if it did and I suppressed the small smile straining to show itself. She pulled away from me, whipped out a tissue to dry her tears and straightened her posture. 

“Forgive me,” she said and before anyone could protest she added, “Kacey, there is something I have to tell you.” She drew in a deep breath. “That Pete hired you was my idea. Actually, it was my condition for him to take over the studio from me two years ago.” 

“What?” Wide eyed I stared at my aunt. “You wanted me as his bookkeeper?”  
“No, I didn’t,” she started to explain. “I actually wanted him to make you his chief photographer but I made the mistake of not being specific enough. Pete hired you as his bookkeeper to spite me, I guess.”   
“But…but why?”

“Honey, believe me, I know Pete’s a good photographer but you.... Kacey, you see the things, the people you photograph. You’ve got compassion for others. You don’t want to only get it right, you strife for the perfect shot, portraying not only the physicality of your subject but a part of their soul as well which are all things Pete mostly lacks.”   
Still flabbergasted I gaped at my aunt, lightly shaking my head. But apparently, I wasn’t confused enough yet because I heard Jeremy’s voice saying, “I’m sorry to interrupt but Kacey, that’s exactly what I couldn’t explain yesterday. That’s what I felt when I saw the pictures you took of me.” 

I found his gaze, took in his smiling face and simply was at a loss. Here I sat between my mom and my aunt on my couch with Jeremy on a chair across from me in my apartment and I had no idea what I was supposed to do; or say. A million questions were flitting through my mind but I felt too stunned, too surprised by it all to focus on a single one.   
And I was actually glad for a cell phone starting to ring because it spared me a reaction to it all, at least for the moment. As Jeremy got up from the chair and answered the call, speaking quietly and very briefly, I stood as well. 

“That’s my ride,” he explained once he’d finished the call. He smiled at me before offering his hand to my mother and my aunt in turn, saying, “Mrs. McKinnon, Mrs. Spencer, it was very nice to meet you.” 

I followed him to the door and, with everything that was happening all at once, felt very shy.   
“How…how long will it take you?” 

“I’ll try to be back in an hour. Maybe an hour and a half, okay?” he told me and I nodded. He smiled at me and grasped the handle as something came to my mind.   
“Hang on,” I said and opened one of the small drawers of my sideboard by the door, rummaging through its contents until I found what I was looking for and placed a keyring in Jeremy’s hand. 

“Here. The bigger one is for the door downstairs,” I explained, meeting his eyes and was surprised that I found myself unable to read the expression on his face. He gazed at me for several heartbeats, the key on his open palm between us. My cheeks flushed crimson and I pulled on my lower lip with my teeth before giving in to the urge to clarify, “I…I just thought it’d be easier to give you this, you know? This way you won’t have to call or ring the doorbell…”

“Kacey,” he interrupted my rambling, “just shut up.”

“What? Why?” 

“So that I can kiss you,” he replied smiling and closed his hand around the silver keyring. With one hand on my waist, he pulled me to him and claimed my lips with his. My arms wound around his midriff and my hands felt their way into the back pockets of his jeans, pressing myself even more firmly against his body. He brought up the key holding hand to the back of my head as our lips opened and our tongues met, dancing together, deepening the kiss. It was as if something unspoken passed between us in that moment; something deep and understanding. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was and knew that whatever it was, it needed to be said out loud eventually. But for the time being, it was enough that I felt it. 

When we parted, both of us were a little breathless. He smiled at me, brought his closed hand around to my face and ran his knuckles down the side of it, muttering, “I’ll hurry.” He placed another short but sweet kiss on my lips, opened the door and left. 

Remembering my two visitors, I didn’t let myself watch him walk down the stairs but closed the door and returned to the couch. As expected both were eyeing me with eager faces and I heaved a deep sigh while reclaiming my vacated spot, internally making a decision. 

“Before you can ask, yes, we are more than just friends. And yes, I’ve slept with him.”   
“Kacey!” my mother gasped while my aunt didn’t so much as blink but I had to ignore it for what I had to say next. “And yes, I’m in love with him but no, I can’t tell you if he’s my – for lack of a better word – boyfriend.”   
“Why not?” my mom inquired, her eyebrows raised.   
“Because I don’t know if that’s what he wants. We…we haven’t talked about it, yet.”

“I’m presuming your uncertainty is mostly due to him being a well-known actor, am I right?” my aunt said and I ripped my head around to meet her calm gaze with my shocked one. She patted my hand and added, “Yes, I recognized him. And this helped, too.” She took up something from the side table and placed a magazine on the glass surface of the coffee table. The magazine.

“Are these the photos we’ve been talking about?” I nodded my head and for the next couple of seconds the silence was only interrupted by the sound of my aunt flipping pages. Once she had seen all there was to see, she asked, “How did you meet him?”   
“Well, I actually owe that to Carla,” I answered, a small smile forming on my lips as I remembered. Finding my aunts eyes, I took a deep breath and I started to recount what had happened six weeks ago.


End file.
